Land of Confusion
by HardBoiled
Summary: The sudden appearance of Captain Vega sets off a chain of events that threatens to destroy Atlantis. I know this isn't the best summary in the world but I don't want to spoil anything.
1. Chapter 1

(This takes place just after Whispers. I found the whole killing of Vega in that episode to be completely confusing. One of the creatures just grabbed her, snapped her neck, and ran. I don't think so. Then as I thought about it, I came up with this story. I finished it months ago but after enough edits, I feel like sharing it. Please let me know what you think. Also I do not own Stargate Atlantis or the characters in it, I just own the characters I came up with. Now that the pointless disclaimer is done and over with, on with the story.)

The first thing she noticed was the pain. She had a splitting headache. Slowly, she began to regain her senses. A distant humming became more clear. She opened her eyes to nothing but blur. Some lights were shining into her eyes but that was all she could tell.

Where am I? What happened to me? All these questions buzzed through Alicia Vega's mind. The last thing she remembered was being on a patrol with Colonel Sheppard and Major Anne Teldy. They had bumped into some guy from the village who was ranting on about his local tall tales.

The next thing Vega knew, she was yanked back then stabbed by a syringe in the neck. Within seconds, everything went black. Maybe she was back in Atlantis in the infirmary. She tried to touch her head but her arms wouldn't move. Something was wrapped around her wrists. Restraints?! She tried to move her legs but found they were restrained as well.

"Don't bother trying. You won't escape." said a male voice beside her.

She turned her head to see a figure standing next to her. She couldn't make out who it was, her vision was still blurry. But there was something in his voice, some effect in it that didn't sound human.

"Who are you?" asked Vega. "I can't say I'm surprised you don't recognize me. You're probably experiencing blurry vision. A temporary side effect of the drugs." responded the figure.

The figure moved off, heading towards something in the back of the room. Was a desk, console, Vega couldn't make it out.

"I'm sure you're a bit confused as to what is happening to you. I injected you with a special paralysis drug. It's so efficient that it lowers the heart rate and breathing to the point where you can't even feel a pulse. I also put a tranquilizer in as well. I didn't want the paralysis to wear off and have you resist when I brought you here." said the figure.

"I have friends and they won't stop until they find me." said Vega. The figure laughed, obviously finding her defiance amusing.

"I'm afraid you're friends won't be coming for you. In fact, they won't be searching for you either. They believe you are dead, just as I want them to." said the figure.

"Why are you doing this?" demanded Vega. Her mind was racing, frightened but she was also focused as her training taught her to be under pressure. The figure didn't answer as he turned and approached her.

That's when her vision began to clear and she saw his face. A pale human face with yellow eyes and marks around his nose. There was only one being who it could belong to. A mistake the Atlantis expedition made two years ago and continues to pay for dearly. Michael.

The former Wraith that was turned into a human then back into a Wraith then turned into something else. The Atlantis team ran into him several times during their expedition and each time he was conducting genetic experiments to create Wraith-Human Hybrids.

"Whatever you want me for, I won't help you. You might as well kill me now." said Vega.

"You would be surprised how many have told me that. But in the end, they always obeyed. And I have great plans for you." said Michael before stabbing a syringe in her neck. Her neck stung from whatever he injected into her.

"I thought you ditched that planet with your freaks." said Vega.

"I did. Though they were efficient killers, they proved to be unsuitable for my needs. But when one of my spies reported that your team arrived on the planet, I decided that perhaps I could use them to my advantage. I released them and had my spy watch your team. But he wasn't supposed to make contact with any of you, the coward was probably trying to save his own pathetic life. When he approached your team, I was left with no choice but to take you. The drugs I injected into you were a precaution so that the good Colonel would leave you, believing you were dead. If there is one thing I know about humans, it's that they hunt for their comrades relentlessly." said Michael.

Vega quickly realized that this guy was almost like those villains from old spies movies, always gloating about their plan in front of the hero. It was a humorous analogy to say the least.

"I had hoped that Colonel Sheppard and the others would have been killed but it seems that the only person that was killed was my own spy. In the end, it does not matter. I have what I want." explained Michael.

"Why did you choose me and why are you telling me all this?" demanded Vega.

"What is that human saying? You were in the right place at the right time. It didn't matter to me who I took, you just presented the first opportunity. And as for telling you all this, I really don't care what you know and don't know." said Michael.

Two hybrids entered the room. Michael turned to the two of them.

"Take her to the holding cell." said Michael. The guards bowed their heads then moved to unstrap her.

* * *

Alicia didn't know how long she had been kept here but it had to have been several weeks at least. She was down on her hands and feet, doing her daily pushups. Doing them allowed her to help deal with the stress of being locked up in a holding cell nearly twenty four hours a day.

The only times she's ever taken out is when Michael does experiments on her. He would inject her with something almost daily then have her returned to her cell. Vega had been studying this routine for some time and always saw a Wraith transporter on her way to Michael's lab.

She knew she was inside a Wraith outpost, one that Michael probably took over some time ago. What she didn't know was what level she was on. If she was on the ground level, the exit would be in a nearby corridor but if she was on a higher level then she had to get down first.

It was a risk to go for it but Vega decided that she didn't have a choice. She was always escorted by two guards to the lab routinely. Though armed, they always kept their weapons holstered. If Vega could surprise them and take their weapons, she could possibly escape. She would only get one shot at this. If she failed, the guards would be ready for any other attempts.

Right on schedule, the two guards walked up to her cell. "It's time." said one of them. Vega got to her feet, warmed up. Her exercises also served another motive. They were warm-ups for when she escapes. The bars came apart and disappeared into the walls. The guards waited for her to exit.

As she usually did, Vega walked out and the guards escorted her down the corridor towards the lab. She had to time this right. When they got near the transporter, she made her move.

Vega smashed her elbow into the first guard's chest then swung her left foot around and kicked the second guard in the abdomen. Both moves stunned them and allowed Vega to hit the first guard with a chop to the neck while at the same time grabbing his stunner.

The second guard had drawned his stunner but Vega spun out of the way and it hit the first guard. Vega then shot the second guard, breathing easier as he slumped to the ground. And that was the easy part. Now she had to get out of here. She ran to the transporter and waited before a beam of light took her away.

* * *

Vega couldn't believe her luck, the stargate was in sight. Located just a few miles away from the outpost. What surprised Alicia was the fact that she ran into no more guards on her way out. It did seem to be too easy but after how long she's been stuck in that cell, she didn't care.

Of course, Michael could be monitoring her. Waiting to see her dial Atlantis and determine it's coordinates. If that was the case, she had to gate to another world first then dial Atlantis. When she reached the DHD, she entered in the symbols for M47-P9G. It was a quiet world with a few trading settlements but she wasn't planning on visiting them. The event horizon formed in the circle and Vega stepped through.

She never felt so relived in her life when she emerged out of the gate. It deactivated right behind her. The captain quickly moved to the DHD and dialed home sweet home.

* * *

Lieutenant Ryan Venner leaned against the railings on the balcony inside the Control Room. His fellow guard, Sergeant Sam Wilkins stood next to him. It was night on Atlantis, everyone was asleep or in their quarters. The control room was very quiet with only two technicians in the room. Night shift was usually pretty boring so Venner decided to have some usual conversations.

"Let me ask you this. We have all this technology, Asgard tech and everything. Why don't we use some of this stuff in Iraq?" asked Venner.

"Because we're not supposed to be using this technology against other countries. It's the International Oversight Committee's decision." said Wilkins.

"Oh come on. All we have to do is show the Odyssey blowing the crap out of an Al-Qaeda base with her Asgard beams and the Taliban will send us Osama Bin-Laden with a bow on his head and an apology letter." said Venner.

"Yeah, that would be something wouldn't it?" asked Wilkins, amused.

"Of course it would." laughed Venner.

An alarm went to their surprise, coming from the gate. The symbols began to light up in a circle, it was an incoming wormhole.

"Quiet that alarm, you'll wake the houseguests." said Venner to the technician. Actually, he just wanted that alarm turned off because it was so annoying. Venner leaned his mouth into the loudspeaker.

"Unscheduled off-world activation." he said, his voice booming over the speakers throughout the room. That was sure to wake the houseguests. He then tapped the shield button.

A force field formed in front of the stargate as the event horizon formed. Venner and Wilkins waited for something to happen but nothing did. They weren't picking up any transmission coming through the gate and nothing has tried to come through.

Then something impacted the shield. Venner couldn't tell what it was but it wasn't very big. Then another impact and then another. In fact, they seemed to be happening in a series of intervals like a pattern.

"Report Lieutenant." said a voice behind him. Venner turned to see Richard Woolsey entering the room. He was already dressed in uniform and since he got here so fast, it probably meant that he was still wide awake before all this happened.

"Well, something is hitting the gate." Venner said, matter of factly.

"I can see that thank you." said Woolsey, not amused. "What I want to know is what is doing that." continued Woolsey.

"Unless you want to lower the shield, I can't help you with that boss." said Venner.

Woolsey turned to the technician. "Is there any way we can figure out what's hitting the gate?" asked Woolsey.

The technician and Woolsey continued their conversation as Venner turned his attention to the sounds hitting the gate. He concentrated on the pattern, trying to figure out what they mean. They seemed to quick beats and long beats. What a minute, that's it!

"It's Morse code." said Venner.

Woolsey and everyone else turned their attention to him. Now Colonel Sheppard had entered the control room. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Some things keep hitting the gate in a pattern, it's Morse code. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't know many people in the Pegasus galaxy who use it." said Venner.

That got Sheppard's attention as he walked over to the balcony. After a few seconds, he nodded his head.

"You're right. It is." he said. He leaned forward, listening.

"What's it say?" asked Woolsey.

Now Major Teldy entered. Venner hoped he didn't have to keep explaining this every time someone else comes in. This was turning into quite a circus.

"What's all the ruckus about?" asked Teldy.

"S...O...S." said Sheppard, still listening. Venner decided to let Sheppard explain the situation, let the boss handle this. Then he decided to listen in again. Yes it did sound like SOS. Then the beats changed.

"Whoa, wait a sec. It's changing. 9...7...2...4...2. That supposed to mean anything?" asked Venner.

Now it was Teldy who responded, with confusion. "That was my team's IDC number. We changed it about a week ago." she said.

Well, that clears things up Venner thought to himself. Now it was changing again. "Okay folks, as if this wasn't weird enough. It changed again." said Venner.

"Now it's M...4...7...P...9...G...ending transmission." said Venner. And with that, the gate deactived. That makes it official, this was the weirdest night shift he's ever had.

* * *

It didn't take long for everyone to figure out that the set of letters and numbers was a planet. Now Rodney McKay was summoned to the control room. As usual, he was moaning and complaining about something. This time it was his lack of sleep.

"Sleep deprivation can greatly affect a person's brain and my brain is too valuable to let anything happen to it." said McKay as he prepared a MALP to go through the gate. Venner didn't really care about this whole situation. He just stood in the control room, being bored as usual.

"Okay. MALP is ready." said McKay as he walked back into the control room. Woolsey gave the gate technician a nod who then started dialing for the planet. The gate locked in and an event horizon formed. Everyone was silent as the MALP went through.

"Receiving MALP telemetry." said McKay A second later the static on the view screen began to clear. The camera showed the DHD and a woman standing next to it. Sheppard's, Woolsey's, and Teldy's jaws all dropped from the sight of her. McKay didn't get it.

"Who's she?" asked McKay.

"_What took you people so long?" _said the woman on the screen.

"That's impossible." said Sheppard, shocked.

"It can't be." said Teldy, stunned.

"Hello. Can someone please fill me in?" asked McKay, confused.

(The inspiration from this story actually came from a Battlestar Galactica novel Unity. It was a pretty good story. Check it out if you're bored one day. Well that's all for now and don't worry. things are about more interesting.)


	2. Chapter 2

Sheppard couldn't believe his eyes when he first saw the MALP image and even now as he starred into the isolation room from above. The last time he saw Captain Vega was her body lying on the grass on that planet with Michael's abominations.

He felt for a pulse but there was nothing. Her death really hit Major Teldy pretty hard, or at least her supposed death. After they killed all the creatures, they went back for her body but it was gone. Sheppard assumed the creatures took it but seeing the Captain here and now proves that wrong.

Dr. Keller was done there, taking blood samples. This felt like déjà vu all over again when they found Carson. Except they didn't have her body to send back to Earth like Carson's so Sheppard is willingly to believe that this was the real Vega.

McKay, Teyla, and Ronon all entered the observation room. They all stared down at the formerly deceased officer. "Who's she?" asked Ronon.

"Her name is Captain Alicia Vega. Was assigned to Atlantis a few months ago. She died on that mission involving Michael's frankensteins, or at least we thought she did." said Sheppard.

"What happened to her?" asked Teyla.

"While we were out in the forest, she was grabbed. Couldn't tell by who. When we found her, I checked for a pulse. She was gone. Or at least, that's what I thought." said Sheppard with some guilt in his voice.

"You're talking about this like it's your fault. Look, if you didn't feel a pulse then she didn't have one." said McKay.

Sheppard pointed to Vega. "The fact that she is alive and well would seem to prove me wrong." said Sheppard, aggravated. Any time a soldier under his command is killed or captured, Sheppard takes it personally. He knew that death is a reality in this kind of situation but that didn't make him feel any better.

But to leave one of his own behind was the worst thing that can happen to Sheppard. In this case, Sheppard felt more guilty then ever. He was the one who ordered her to join Sheppard and Teldy out in the forest and was then attacked. Sheppard did hold himself responsible for putting her in that situation.

Major Teldy, Doctor Alison Porter, and Sergeant "Dusty" Mehra came running in. The three of them were Vega's teammates and were probably more shocked and exited to have heard the news then anyone else.

After Keller finished her preliminary examination and confirmed that she was Captain Vega, Woolsey wanted an immediate debriefing. Not wanting this to be a spectacle, Richard only wanted Sheppard and himself asking her questions for this.

Vega explained the whole ordeal, from the moment she woke up in Michael's lab to the escape. It was all straight forward enough, she managed to explain a few things like why Michael faked her death to using her Wraith stunner to fire into the gate in a sequence of Morse code.

"Michael was like a '60s movie spy villain, quite chatty." said Vega. But there remained the most important question.

"Why did Michael go through all this trouble in the first place?" asked Woolsey. That was the big question of them all.

"I don't know sir, he said he had big plans and did do experiments on me but what he really wanted, I can't say for sure." said Vega.

"Alright Captain, that will be all. Colonel Sheppard will step up temporary quarters for you." said Woolsey.

"Well, I'm sure the VIP guest quarters will suit her needs." said Sheppard.

"I've just been in a Wraith cell for the past two weeks sir, I'll take anything." said Vega.

"Very well, you're dismissed." said Woolsey. As soon as Vega left, Woolsey turned to Sheppard.

"I don't like this. Michael obviously went to a lot of trouble to capture her." he said. "She said he picked her at random." Sheppard responded.

"Okay then, he went to a lot of trouble to capture one of you." said Woolsey.

"I've got Beckett and Keller looking over her DNA to figure out what Michael did to her. But he was probably just trying to turn her into a Hybrid." said Sheppard.

"From what we've been told by Kaanan, it took less then a week to turn him into a Hybrid. Michael was experimenting on her for almost two weeks. Also, everyone that was experimented on by Michael has proven to be open to his influence." said Woolsey.

"Fine, we'll keep her on Atlantis until the Daedalus gets back and takes her to Earth." said Sheppard. Then something popped in Sheppard's head. "Has her family been notified yet?" he asked.

"No but I haven't even informed Stargate Command of the situation. They'll get the report tomorrow." said Woolsey, who started packing up his things. He stood up. "I want a security detail with her at all times. I don't want to take any chances." Woolsey continued.

First an interesting night shift now a bad shift in general. Sheppard just reassigned Venner to guard detail, most likely as Woolsey's behest. Baldie never did like him that much. Oh well. It was quite clear that Captain Vega didn't really appreciate a "babysitter" as she called him. Venner corrected her by saying the word she was looking for was stalker.

Now she was in the walkway to Western Pier. The walkway was several miles long, making the perfect jogging course. For Vega it was, for Venner it was a nightmare. Vega decided to go jogging and Venner had to keep up with her with all equipment still on him. The only equipment Vega had was her I-Pod. And she had been jogging for the past hour, probably on purpose.

The odd thing was, Venner felt like he had just spent an entire day in the gym. This didn't make any sense. It's not like he couldn't handle this kind of exercise, his fitness test for the Air Force was worse then this but for some reason, his legs felt exhausted. And his legs wouldn't stop shaking.

Vega finally took a rest, allowing Venner to catch his breath. Vega seemed amused by Venner's current misery. "You're still keeping up? I would have thought I'd lost you by now." said Vega.

"Well think again...Can't think of an appropriate comeback right now but it'll come to me." said Venner.

Vega put her earphones back on. "What's that? I can't hear you." she said, mockingly before taking off down the walkway.

"Women. Can't live with them, can't kill 'em." Venner said under his breath as he chased after her.

McKay took another sip of decaf. It's funny how terrible his life would be if coffee didn't exist in this form. Right now, he was working on using the Asgard matter converter into creating a ZPM. The matter converter was capable of creating anything into thin air but for some reason, couldn't make a working ZPM.

"Parkins." said McKay, calling out for Simon Parkins, a scientist also assigned to the project.

"Yes doctor." said Parkins, as he approached McKay's desk. McKay handed him his electronic notepad.

"Put these into the simulator." said McKay.

"Are you sure you don't want me to go over your equations?" asked Parkins. That's when McKay noticed Parkins's coffee cup in his hand. It was shaking rather oddly.

"Are you alright?" asked McKay. Parkins noticed his shaking hand then quickly put his cup down.

"Of course, I'm fine." said Parkins, unconvincingly. McKay quickly pulls his notepad back.

"Have Dr. Keller check you out. I don't want you giving me an infectious disease." said McKay before getting back to work.

"Fine doctor, I'll lease is all of nine." said Parkins.

"Excuse me?" asked McKay, sure he just heard the man wrong.

"All thinking my foot drugs mercury." said Parkins, who seemed confused himself.

"Oh, hahahaha. Very funny, you thought that something like that would drive me crazy. Well it's not going to work. So you can go ahead and stop it." said McKay, thinking this was all some joke.

"None less dough when ink old cloth." said Parkins, starting to get aggravated. Then he started looking around and could everyone else in the room looking at him. No one was laughing so hopefully he'll stop.

Parkins now looked confused and frightened. "Speak cream go hold tunnel left of world." he said. And what's more, his hand was still shaking. Now McKay was starting to get a little concerned.

"Parkins are you alright?" asked McKay, quickly realizing that was a stupid question.

"When rat quill horn drown take." said Parkins, trying to answer but getting more frustrated.

McKay grabbed him by the arm. "We need to get to Jennifer." said McKay.

"How?" asked Parkins. McKay frowned.

"What do you mean how? We walk...." said McKay before realizing that's probably not what Parkins meant. McKay tried motioning Parkins to come with him. Thankfully, he complied.

Sheppard entered the gate room to see the active gate. The daily status report was about to be sent through the gate to Stargate Command back on Earth. Woolsey gave him an acknowledging nod.

"Colonel. We were just about to transmit the weekly report." said Woolsey.

"Well, don't let me stop you." said Sheppard.

Woolsey turned and nodded to Copeland, the technician sending the data burst. Sheppard noticed as he lifted up his hand to press the send button, it was shaking. Copeland stared at his hand, which wouldn't stop shaking.

"Everything alright?" Sheppard asked him.

Before Copeland could respond, his eyes went wide. His whole body started shaking and fell off his chair. Sheppard quickly moved to him as his body started shaking violently, like a seizure. A few Marines moved to help hold Copeland down.

Sheppard tapped his radio. "I need a med team in the gate room now." he said.

Doctor Jennifer Keller ran along side the gurney holding Copeland as he continued shaking violently against his restraints. This had to be the first time that anyone's had a seizure on Atlantis. When they finally got to the infirmary, Beckett was right there waiting.

"He's having a seizure." said Keller.

"When did it start?" asked Beckett.

"Just a few minutes ago." said Keller.

Then finally Copeland stopped, unconscious. This is what typically happens after the seizure subsides so the worst is thankfully over.

"It looks like the worst is over." said Keller.

Then Beckett saw the man's face as they transferred from the gurney to a bed.

"Wait a minute. It's Copeland." said Beckett. From his facial expression, Keller could tell something was wrong.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Copeland's been in Atlantis since we first got here. I've treated him enough times to know that he isn't epileptic." said Beckett.

"Carson!" Beckett heard Rodney calling out from behind him. He saw McKay being followed by a man, Dr. Parkins. With Copeland's seizure gone, Beckett decided to see what this was about.

"What's wrong?" Beckett asked.

"Speak tense seen opposite juice." said Parkins. Beckett was sure he didn't hear Parkins right.

"What he said." said McKay, almost humorously.

"The bloody…? Rodney if this is some kind of joke..." Beckett said before McKay cut him off.

"It's no joke Carson. He's been babbling like this for the past seven minutes. And yes, I counted how many. Plus, you should look at his hands." said McKay.

Deciding to go along with this, Carson stared at Parkins's hands. They were shaking, very minor but still it was obvious something was wrong. "How long has his hands been shaking?" asked Carson.

"Well, I'd ask him but I don't speak gibberenese." said McKay.


	3. Chapter 3

(How about two chapters today instead of one? I know what you're thinking, BRILLIANT!)

Woolsey and Sheppard sat in the briefing room, listening to both Keller and Beckett explain the situation. Alongside them were Ronon, Teyla, and McKay.

"When Copeland woke up, he was speaking gibberish just like Parkins." said Beckett.

"We've had seven more personal come in the last hour with similar symptoms." said Keller.

"So we're dealing with a virus?" asked Woolsey.

"That's the thing. All our scans for any biological agents came back negative for all nine infectees." said Keller.

"Then what's causing this?" asked Sheppard.

"We don't know. Both seizures and aphasia...That's when someone loses the ability to speak comprehensive language...can both occur through brain damage but that can't be the case here." said Beckett.

Keller took over. "Seizures and aphasia are caused by damage to regions of the brain directly opposite of each other. Which means that something is directly attacking their entire brains." she said.

"Wait a minute, I touched Parkins. Oh, I'm a dead man." said McKay, already fearing the worst.

"Do you have any idea what could be behind this?" asked Teyla.

"I know this may sound condescending but it has to be an infectious agent. It's the only possible explanation. Medication seems to help with the symptoms but not much." said Beckett.

"I just thought you said that you didn't find any viruses." said Sheppard.

"You're right, but viruses aren't the only infectious agent. We're still running tests." said Beckett.

Static hissed from Keller's radio. _"Dr. Keller, we need you in the infirmary. Parkins just collapsed."_ said a nurse over the radio.

Keller was immediately out the door.

"Do we know what the symptoms are?" asked Woolsey.

"So far, all infected has fever and uncontrollable shaking. Also aphasia and seizures, though the symptoms don't appear to be in any order. One person infected will start with a fever, another will start with seizures. And the bloody incubation period is different with each person." said Beckett.

"Oh, no. I'm starting to feel hot. Could someone take my temperature?" asked McKay. Everyone threw him a look. He was quickly on the defensive. "Hey, none of you people escorted a sick man to the infirmary. I am so dead." said McKay.

"We don't even know if whatever is causing this is airborne Rodney. We'll need to examine everything, food, water, and find out where our infectees have been for the past twenty-four hours." said Beckett.

* * *

"_Attention all personal, a lockdown is in effect. Everyone is to remain in their area at all times. A quarantine lockdown in now in effect."_ a voice said over the loudspeaker. As soon as that was finished, all the doors began to close around the mess hall.

And Vega was now stuck with her "stalker", Sergeant Venner. He took a seat next to her.

"Figures this had to happen just as my shift ends." he said.

"You might as well get something to eat." said Vega.

"I'll pass. Besides, I'm still on "stalking" duty." said Venner.

Since the two of them didn't really have anything else to say, they just sat there in silence. Finally, Venner talked first.

"How about we call a truce? I'm sorry about those...words I said to Sergeant Mehra." said Venner.

"Words? If I hadn't restrained her, she would have decked you." said Vega.

"In my defense, she started it. I was duty bound to insult her back." said Venner. And that was the reason for some of Vega stunts, from the several hours long jogging which she knew would wear him down to slipping away every time he looked away. That drove him nuts.

"And how is that?" asked Vega.

"The golden rule states due unto others as you would have them due onto you. She insulted me so she had to expect me to insult her back." said Venner.

"Look, we can either bury the hatchet and act like soldiers. Or we can continue acting like toddlers." said Venner. Vega was silent for a moment.

"Okay, no more." said Vega.

"Alright. Now that I know you won't run off on me, I'm getting some lunch." said Venner.

"We're in lockdown, it's not like I could go anywhere." said Vega.

* * *

"Seventeen more have begun babbling complete nonsense. Thirteen more have had violent seizures but thankfully only minor injuries. But many others have begun to exhibit uncontrollable shaking and mild fever." said Keller.

"So much for a bloody quarantine." Beckett said, exhausted. They've run every scan they could and found nothing. So whatever this contagion is, it has to have properties that would allow it hide inside the body not just from scans but also from the body's own immune system.

"Wait a minute. What if we use a blood sample taken before this infection began and have the sensors compare it with an infected sample. See if we can find anything new in the blood." said Keller.

"You might be onto something." said Beckett, relieved that they might finally figure out what's causing this.

* * *

Woolsey was getting nervous and rightfully so. Everyone he saw was on edge and scared. Even Colonel Sheppard couldn't hide his own fear, though it was most likely for the lives of his friends. Thankfully, Keller and Beckett called into the control room and said they had good news and bad news.

"It's a prion. It's a protein that mimics a virus but since it isn't one, it doesn't show up on bio-scans and the human immune system just completely ignores it." said Keller.

"The truth is most prions are harmless, everyone here has probably had prions in their bodies for most of their lives without any problems." said Beckett.

"But there are a few prions that attack the brain and are always fatal. This seems to be one of them." said Keller. "This explains why people are having seizures and aphasia. Prions specifically target the brain, in particular the regions that cause these symptoms." said Beckett.

"How come I've never heard of a disease like this?" asked Sheppard said into the radio.

"Because the dangerous ones are very rare and can only be passed through liquid contact. But this prion is very different. It seems that it's not alone. There is a prion in our blood that's relatively harmless. We found it in every blood sample we've taken. The contagious prion appears to attach itself to this other harmless prion and the two become deadly and attack the brain." said Keller.

"The contagious prion meanwhile continues to spread while the new dangerous prions stay inside the patient. Which explains why the city's sensors didn't identify it as a threat. The contagious prion itself isn't dangerous unless it merges with the harmless prion." said Beckett.

"So what do we do now?" asked Woolsey.

"I'm afraid not much. There is no cure for a prion-based disease." said Beckett.

"So what? We just stand back and die?" asked Ronon, standing by the ledge irritated. He always said sitting back and doing nothing was never his thing.

"We're not giving up just yet. Medication does seem to help with the symptoms and we're still looking into a cure." said Keller.

"Alright, so what's the good news?" asked Sheppard.

"That was the good news." said Beckett, which didn't make Sheppard feel any better.

"Alright, what's the bad news?" asked Woolsey. "The prion is airborne." said Keller.

That brought an uncomfortable silence into the room. Keller continued.

"The food and water samples came back negative. Traveling through the air is the only way it's spreading so fast." she said.

"I thought you said these things couldn't travel through the air." said Sheppard.

"This prion is completely different from those on record, even here in the Pegasus galaxy. In fact, I've never seen an airborne prion ever in nature." said Beckett. That left one chilling possibility.

"What if it isn't natural? You know, what if someone created this...prion to do all this." said Sheppard.

"The Colonel's right. There's no way this is natural." said Keller.

"Oh no." Beckett's voice said over the radio. That was never a good thing to hear from a doctor.

"We've begun conducting random test samples from people throughout the city and they've all come back positive. So is Dr. Keller and myself, and the entire medical staff." said Beckett.

Suddenly, the stargate activated. The gate alarm went off, indicating an incoming wormhole.

"Who could that be?" wondered Sheppard.

"The only off world team is Major Lorne's and he's been appraised of the situation. He shouldn't be contacting us for another twelve hours." said Woolsey.

The event horizon formed as the shield was activated. Everyone waited but nothing happened. No bumps on the shield.

"Are we picking up any transmissions?" Woolsey asked Chuck. The gate technician shook his head. "No sir, we're not picking up anything." said Chuck.

* * *

Teyla held Torran in her arms, more afraid for him then herself. Ever since the quarantine was initiated, she was afraid that his still developing immune system would make him one of the first to die. Thankfully, he doesn't have a fever and seems to be in otherwise fine health.

Suddenly, she felt a distant feeling in the back of her head. Could it be the disease? wondered Teyla. No, because she had felt this way before. A strange feeling of someone's essence. The feeling was similar to the Wraith, but it was still different. The only time she felt this way was when she was near Michael.

She immediately tapped her ear radio. "John, do you read?" she said.

"Teyla, is everything alright?" John asked over the radio.

"Is something happening?" she asked, her voice concerned.

"Well...Yeah, someone's dialed in but nothing's happened yet. No one's tried to come through or contact us. They're just keeping the gate active." said Sheppard.

* * *

Doctor Alison Porter found the situation uncomfortable. She was getting a meal in the mess hall when the quarantine went into affect and now she's stuck inside a room with possibly infected personal.

She later found Captain Vega along with a Sergeant by the name of Venner. Porter remembered Venner from his confrontation with Dusty. The whole Full Metal Jacket line really didn't make Venner a friend with Dusty.

Venner didn't look good. He tried to take a sip from his drink but he spilled it from the shaking in his hands. "Great, next thing you know I'll speaking gibberish and my body will start having urges to do an odd version of the Macarena." said Venner.

Though he tried to hide it, he was scared but Porter couldn't blame him. Beckett talked to her earlier and said that a few of the earliest cases lapsed into comas and are now in critical conditions.

"Doctors Beckett and Keller are working as hard as they can. If anyone can find a cure, it's them." said Porter, reassuringly. But Venner didn't seem very cheered up by the news. Meanwhile, Vega was seemingly staring off into space. She had been doing that for the past several minutes.

"Hey, Alicia. Everything okay?" Porter asked. Vega quickly broke out of her mind freeze and smiled at Porter.

"Yeah, of course." she said. She was taking this all very well.

"Well, at least this explains my sudden weakness during the good Captain's jogging exercises. I should have kept up with you..." said Venner, stopping in mid-speech.

Suddenly, Venner dropped his cup. It spilled on the ground as he started shaking violently. Porter quickly grabbed him to try and hold him down. Others came to help and some quickly backed off, as if afraid that Venner was going to infect them.

Porter tapped her radio piece. "This is Porter. I need a med team to the Mess Hall stat." she said.

* * *

"You want what?" asked Woolsey over the radio. Beckett tried to keep his concentration as he ran alongside Venner's stretcher. It took them thirteen minutes to get through all the closed doors one by one instead of the four minutes it should normally take.

"I want you to end the bloody lockdown. It's taking far too long for the med teams to get anywhere. Blood tests show the prion has spread throughout the entire city. A lockdown isn't going to help anymore except to slow our teams from reaching patients." said Beckett.

He entered the infirmary to see Keller sitting in a chair, leaning her head against her hand. Since when did she take a break during something like this? "Jennifer, are you alright?" asked Beckett.

She shook her head no. "Ten on a fort hall run far." she said, indicating that the disease has begun to affect her speech. "Oh, no." said Beckett aloud.

(Getting interesting isn't it? I decided to mainly use Beckett because I personally like him better then Keller. It's not that I don't like her, I just like Beckett better.)


	4. Chapter 4

"Michael?" Woolsey asked Sheppard. They had just lifted the quarantine but ordered all personal to remain where they are.

"Teyla and Kanaan both sensed Michael's presence. The fact that he dialed in while this is happening means that he probably started this whole thing." said Sheppard.

"But how did he get this disease...Captain Vega." said Woolsey, quickly realizing the answer. From the look on Sheppard's face, he was thinking the exact same thing. "That's what those experiments were, he was infecting her." said Woolsey.

"He had her for two weeks. I doubt he needed that much time to infect her with a disease." said Sheppard.

"But he needed her to escape on her own. I'm sure the Captain wouldn't willingly expose everyone on Atlantis to this." said Woolsey.

He tapped his com radio. "Captain Vega, please respond." he said. No response. "Captain Vega, respond." he said. Still no answer. "Woolsey to all security teams, locate Captain Vega and escort her to the med lab." said Woolsey. At that moment, the gate suddenly shut down.

* * *

Everything was blurry then her eyes began to focus. She was sitting in some kind of storage room. And she had no idea how she got here. One minute she was talking to Venner and Alison, the next she was here. And just how did she get here?

She stood up and walked outside. No sooner did she step out of the room, a security team rounded a corner and yelled at her. "Hold it." one of them said, a Sergeant.

He tapped his ear radio. "This is Sergeant Wilkins, we have Captain Vega." he said. "We're going to need you to come with us ma'am." he then said to her.

"What's gong on?" asked Vega, stilled confused from her blackout or whatever it was.

"I'm under orders to take you to the infirmary." he said, insistent.

* * *

As if the shaking and incoherent babbling wasn't enough, now short term memory loss. When the security team brought in Captain Vega, she was confused. She said one second she was in the mess hall and then the next, she was somewhere else with no memory of how she got there.

At least she was here, now they just might be able to get some answers. It was a long shot but Beckett was checking her blood to see any anomalies. Vega was the first person to supposedly have this symptom so maybe there's something else going on.

That's when he saw it. Looking through a microscope, he could see the miracle he had been looking for.

Beckett taped his radio. "Mr. Woolsey, Colonel Sheppard. I have good news." he said.

"We could really use some right about now." said Woolsey over the line. They weren't kidding. One third of the entire city was now showing symptoms and the worst cases, like Copeland and Parkins, were in comas and near death. It wasn't going to be long before the body count rises.

"You were right. Captain Vega is infected but she's infected with more then three prions. The normal one, the contagious one, and a third one that I've never seen before." said Beckett.

"What's so good about this?" asked Sheppard.

"The third prion attaches to the dangerous prion combination into a form that the immune system recognizes as a threat. It gives the Captain a natural immunity." said Beckett.

"So can you replicate this prion?" asked Woolsey.

"I don't have to. It seems that Michael's genetic manipulation causes her body to generate both the contagious and third prion. The contagious prion is the only one that is passed through the air." said Beckett.

"Did you find a cure or not?" asked Sheppard, who sounded like he wasn't in the mood for explanations.

"The Captain is O positive, which makes her a universal donor. All I need to do is inject a small drop of her blood into someone and their immune system will take care of the rest." said Beckett.

"Carson, I would kiss you if I was right there." said Sheppard, obviously thrilled.

"You don't have to go that far." said Beckett. Then Carson heard an alarm go off in his radio. "Colonel, what's going on?" asked Beckett.

"Someone's dialing the gate again. Probably Michael trying to stop us from using it. Just get back to saving the day." said Sheppard.

"Understood, Beckett out." said Carson before turning off his radio. Sitting on the examination bed next to him was Captain Vega. The whole short term memory loss was something to be concerned with but it looks like it wasn't caused by the prions. She stared at him oddly.

"I'm going to need to take some more samples my dear." he said, grabbing some needles and test tubes.

"So, I'm the only person who has the cure?" she asked. Strange question but she was right.

"That's right. Michael really shot himself in the foot. Because you're O positive, your blood can cure everyone on this base." said Beckett.

"That's where you're wrong doctor." she said menacingly.

Vega suddenly lunged forward and cold cocked Carson right in the face. Before Beckett had time to recover, Vega had grabbed a syringe and held up to Carson's neck.

"Captain, what the bloody..." said Beckett, before Vega pushed the needle closer. Not drawing blood, but it stung.

"I'm afraid the Captain is no longer in control of this body. I guess I haven't shot myself in the foot after all." she said.

Beckett couldn't believe his ears. The way she talked was just like Michael. Carson couldn't believe it, he knew that Michael made his test subjects open to his influence but not a complete mind control.

"How does it feel doctor? Knowing that you're responsible for this. If you hadn't captured me and turned me into a human, I wouldn't have become an outcast and target your people like this. Face it, everyone who dies here is dead because of what you did to me." said Vega with malice in her voice.

Suddenly, the lab doors opened as Doctor Cole entered the room. "Doctor, I have those test..." she said before noticing what was happening. It also allowed Carson the distraction he needed.

He kicked Vega away and grabbed an IV metal pole to swing at her. But the Captain leaped forward and grabbed the bar before Beckett could swing it. She kneed in the chest, knocking him down to his hand and knees. Then Beckett felt a metal bar smash into his back.

Carson screamed in pain as he slumped onto his back. He turned to see Vega smashing out the windows then grabbing her blood samples and tossing them. She glanced down at Beckett.

"I'm afraid there won't be any cure from those Doctor." she said with a smirk on her face. She glanced around as Beckett heard footsteps. Vega took cover beside the door as a security guard came running into the room with his pistol drawn. Vega, using the metal pole, knocked the gun out of the guard's hand and slammed the end into his face.

The blow knocked the guard unconscious. Vega then quickly grabbed the fallen pistol and ran out of the room.

* * *

Sheppard's feet continued to shake, he felt exhausted. The constant shaking was taxing him, now even walking felt like a day in the gym. Ronon was still standing but he didn't look so good either. Thankfully, neither of them had started talking funny yet.

Woolsey wasn't so lucky. A few minutes ago, he began to speak incoherently. Now that Woolsey is unable to command effectively, Sheppard had no choice but to assume command. But Sheppard was barely able to do anything at this point. Thankfully, Beckett said he would be able to start curing people right away.

"Colonel Sheppard, this is Doctor Beckett. Vega's gone." said Beckett. So much for good news.

"What are you talking about?" demanded Sheppard.

"It's Michael, somehow he's taken control of Vega's body. I don't know how but she's tossed all of her blood samples and she's left the infirmary. I don't know where she's heading." said Beckett.

Sheppard turned to Rodney who sitting in front of a computer, not feeling too good himself.

"Rodney, find her. She should be the only lifesign alone." said Sheppard. Rodney nodded and got to work.

Sheppard tapped his radio. "Captain Vega come in." he said. It didn't take long before she answered.

"Colonel Sheppard. Captain Vega is no longer in control, I am." said Vega, but her voice sounded different. Like the tone of arrogance he heard before with Michael.

"I assume this is Michael." said Sheppard but already knowing the answer.

"That would be correct Colonel. I must thank you. If your people hadn't found my lab on that world where I took your good Captain, I would have never been able to pull this all off. I knew that you would take her back if she were able to escape. That's your fatal flaw Colonel, your compassion." said Vega/Michael.

"Nice little bug you've got spreading around. Where'd you come up with it?" asked Sheppard, trying to keep her talking and distracted from whatever Michael was planning next.

"It was actually a Wraith bioweapon. They used it during the war with the Ancients as it would kill any Ancients it infected but was completely harmless to the Wraith themselves. They stopped using it when many of their own food supply got infected and died." said Vega.

"Where are you?" asked Sheppard.

"Please, you actually need me to answer that? I'm sure you're trying to locate me through the city's sensors right now." said Vega.

"I've got her, she's at the base of the tower." said McKay, pointing to a single dot on the screen. Sheppard then realized what Michael was up to.

"Security teams to the ZPM room now!" he yelled into his radio.

The lights suddenly shut off, along with power to the entire room. "Oh, fauoot." said McKay, quickly realizing that the prions were starting to affect his brain.

"Activate auxiliary generators." said Sheppard. McKay typed on his computer but nothing happened. And from the look on McKay's face, it wasn't good.

"Can you get the power back?" asked Sheppard. McKay shook his head no.

"Crap." Sheppard said before activating his radio again. "All security teams, you are to locate and detain Captain Vega. Use non-lethal force only, we need her alive." said Sheppard.

Sheppard turned to Ronon. "I'll go help, you stay here." Ronon said, walking out. Sheppard finally slumped into a chair, barely able to stand. He turned to McKay.

"Rodney, get down to the ZPM room and fix it." said Sheppard.

Rodney pointed to himself. "Dice?" he asked.

"Yes Rodney, you. You don't need to speak English to fix the ZPM right? Now get down there." said Sheppard. He then turned to Sergeant Wilkins.

"You and your team escort McKay to the ZPM room." said Sheppard. "Yes sir." said Wilkins before following McKay out of the room.

(I bet you didn't see that coming. I hoped you enjoy it, if so then let me know. Till next time.)


	5. Chapter 5

Teyla ran along the corridor, meeting up with Ronon. The Satedan didn't look so good, his hands and feet were shaking but somehow he was still going. "It's Michael. Somehow he's taken over Vega's body." said Ronon.

"Then that is why he keeps dialing us. He can only control her if he has an active stargate to reach out with his mind through." said Teyla.

"How are you feeling?" asked Ronon.

"I am fine." said Teyla. That response surprised Ronon.

"Really? No shaking, no babbling?" asked the Satedan.

"No, nothing and neither has Kanaan or Toran shown any symptoms. Perhaps it has something to do with the Wraith DNA inside us." said Teyla.

A voice came in over the radio. "Colonel Sheppard, this is Major Teldy. It looks like Michael's raided the armory. We're missing a P90 along with several ammunition clips, a flak jacket, and a life signs detector." said Teldy's voice.

* * *

Teldy refused to say that it was Vega through this whole thing. She knew her, the Captain was a good soldier and a good human being. She would have never done anything like this and that is why she would only call who's doing this, Michael.

Teldy and her team, which now only consisted of Porter and a marine named Myers, had just checked the armory and discovered the stolen items. Now they were heading back to where the Captain was found a few hours ago when she wouldn't respond to any radio bursts.

If Michael was in control of her at the time, then he was in that area for a reason. Teldy figured they better find out what it was.

"Whoa. I'm picking up an energy spike." said Porter reading from her portable scanner. That was quite surprising considering that there was no power in the entire city. "Let's check it out." said Teldy.

Porter led them into an open storage room. "The source is definitely coming from inside here." said Porter, looking around with her flashlight.

A quiet humming nose caught Teldy's attention. The sound was coming from inside a crate. The major grabbed the lid and opened to a sea of light. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust and see that it was an active Naquadria generator.

Porter examined it with her scanner. "Umm, I've got some really bad news. The generator is unstable. It's gonna blow." she said, with a look of concern on her face.

Teldy tapped her radio. "Colonel Sheppard, we have a problem. It looks like Michael rigged one of the backup Naquadria generators to blow." she said.

"How bad is it?" asked Sheppard, who didn't sound very good. Teldy knew how he felt, she couldn't stop shaking her hand for the past five minutes. Porter took over the conversation.

"The explosion will be big enough to destroy the entire city. And from the readings I'm getting, it looks like it's going to explode in about half an hour." said Porter.

* * *

Teyla caught Porter's recent radio transmission. As if this day wasn't already bad enough. A disease is weakening and killing everyone in the entire city, Michael has taken control of the one person who can cure everyone and a bomb is set to blow up the city. Just another day in the Pegasus Galaxy as John would say.

"Can you disarm it?" Sheppard's voice came through the radio. "I hope so." said Porter.

"You hope so?" said Sheppard, not liking that answer. "I'll do it okay." said Porter.

Then Teyla and Ronon approached the main stairwell shaft, Teyla felt Michael's presence again. She looked up to see Vega on the second floor catwalk, aiming a P90 at them. Within a split second, Teyla lunged to the side and tackled Ronon to the ground.

Gunfire erupted all around them as they took cover behind a nearby pillar. "Teyla. I was hoping we'd meet one last time." Vega/Michael said before firing another burst at their cover.

"How is Ronon? From what I saw, he doesn't look so good. Ironic that he battles hundreds of Wraith but yet dies from a disease." laughs Michael. Ronon leaned out and fired a round from his laser pistols. But with his hand shaking, his shot is way off.

"You should have killed me when you had the dozens of opportunities to do so. But do you know what stopped you? Your compassion, it is your greatest weakness. Always trying to help those who cannot help themselves. That is why you wouldn't kill me and that is everyone in this city is dying right now, because you let your compassion get in the way." Michael said tauntingly.

"You are right Michael. I let my compassion for you get in the way, but never again. Because the next time we meet, I will kill you." yelled Teyla, with absolute hatred in her voice.

"Then why aren't you trying now? Oh that's right. Captain Vega. You don't want any harm to come to her. Unfortunately if you truly want to stop what happens next, you will have to kill her." said Michael. At that moment, Teyla heard footsteps on the catwalk.

She leaned out to see Vega running down the catwalk, out of sight. Teyla grabbed Ronon and helped him to his feet. Teyla tapped her radio.

"Teyla to all teams, Vega in the main tower and appears to be moving up from the twenty-third level." Teyla said, making sure everyone knew Vega's location.

None of this made any sense, why was Michael still controlling her? He infected the city, set up the bomb, what else could he possibly hope to accomplish? The only logical thing for him to do now was to ensure that Vega's blood wasn't used as an antidote.

But if he wanted to do that, shouldn't he have just make her jump out a window or blow herself up with C4? So what else was so important that Michael would risk Atlantis getting their hands on the cure?

* * *

Sheppard couldn't stop himself as his whole chair shook from the tremors of his own body. His body refused to stop shaking, now Sheppard knew how that girl in the Exorcist felt like.

Around the gate, a squad of Marines continued to hold guard. Prepared to fire at anything that should come through the gate now that the shield is down. Sheppard suspected that Michael was going to use the power outage to send his troops through. But so far, he hasn't tried.

Perhaps he's waiting for the infectees to deteriorate even more before striking, maybe he just wants to see everyone on Atlantis die seeing through Vega's eyes. John didn't know.

Suddenly, something came through the gate. To John's horror, it was a round and organic with an electric current flashing around it like a shield. He knew exactly what it was but before he could say anything.

The bomb released a wave of energy, stunning everyone in the control room. They all dropped to the floor unconscious as four Hybrids stepped into the control room. They moved quickly, securing the room and disarming everyone in it. One of them took Sheppard's radio and turned it on.

"My lord, we have secured the gate room." he said.

"Good, guard it with your lives." Said a female voice on the other end, no doubt the human that the master was currently controlling. In order for the mind control to work, the master had to concentrate in a deep meditation. That is why he remains back at the outpost.

The Hybrid activated the communication device on his wrist, opening a channel back to the outpost on the other side of the wormhole.

"We have secured the control room. Deactivate the portal." he said.

He then turned to another Hybrid, ordering him to cut off the transporters. Thereby, preventing anyone from outside the main tower to enter.

* * *

Teldy exchanged a worried look with Porter after hearing that last transmission on the radio. They had to get back to the control room immediately. Just then, the lights came back on. McKay had bad timing.

"Alright, Ali. Disarm that bomb. Myers, you stay here." Teldy said before turning to the exit. "Wait a minute, where are you going?" asked Porter.

"I'm heading back to the control room." Teldy said.

"Hold it, you don't know how many of Michael's Hybrids are in the control room. He could have a whole army in there." said Porter.

Teldy swung back around to face her. "And there's no telling how many of our people will be able to fight. I'm sorry, but I don't have time to look for anyone else in good shape." she said.

"Then I'll come with you." said Myers. "No. If Alison can't disarm that bomb, then we're all dead anyways. And if some of Michael's Hybrids show up here, I don't want her to fight them alone." said Teldy. Myers sighed but nodded, realizing that Anne was right. And with that, the Major turned and ran out.

* * *

Vega stopped her stroll, realizing that she wasn't in the infirmary anyone. What's going on? Why are all these blackouts happening?

It took a moment for Vega to realize that she was armed with a P-90 and enough ammunition on her flak jacket to fight a small war. She tapped her radio.

"This is Captain Vega to anyone on this channel. I…uhh." Vega said before she began to stutter. The truth was that she didn't know what to say right now.

"Captain is that you?" asked Teldy over the radio. "Major, what's happening to me? What's going on?" asked Vega.

"I don't have time to explain. Right now, I need you to disarm yourself. Make sure you can't use any weapons. Don't ask why, just do it." said Teldy.

Without another thought, Vega ran to a nearby balcony and tossed away her P90. She also threw away her ammunition and life signs detector. And in that last moment, everything went dark as Michael assumed control.

He glanced down at the flak jacket to realize he didn't have any weapons. All it took was one minute for his Hybrids to establish a wormhole from Atlantis back to the outpost, and that was all it took for Vega to disarm herself.

Michael grunted but there wasn't anything he could do about now. At this moment, his Hybrids were isolating an auxiliary generator to generate power only to the control room. This would prevent the Lanteans from cutting power off from the ZPM.

With the transporters down and the main tower sealed off, no one from outside the tower could now interfere. The only problem was the people on the bottom half of the tower. Everyone on the top half had been rendered unconscious from the stun bomb. Now there was just one thing left to do.

Teyla moved down the corridor, alone. She had left Ronon behind after he finally slumped to the ground, too exhausted to move. She turned down a corridor into the living quarters.

Everyone on the upper levels seemed to be unconscious, no doubt from a Wraith stun device. The Hybrids in the control room were no doubt Michael's exit strategy but the biggest question still remained. What else was he using Vega for?

It was a few moments ago that Teyla had a shocking realization. He was going after Torran. Kanaan and Torran were in Teyla's quarters on level 41. And that level was hit by the stun wave. All Michael had to do was grab Torran and run to the gate.

When Teyla finally reached her room, her worst fears were true. Kanaan lay on the ground unconscious while Torran's crib was empty.


	6. Chapter 6

(Well all good things must come to an end and it's time to conclude this story. I don't feel like dragging it on and I believe that ending it like this would be going out on a high note. Thank you Lone-ranger1 for reviewing. Your reviews alone made this fic worth posting. Thank you and I hope you enjoy the ending.)

Teldy waited outside the gate room on the second floor, peering into the control room. There were four Hybrids, a lot less then she expected. The attacks on his facilities and ships must have really diminished Michael's army.

Unfortunately, it was still four against one. Two were inside the control room while the other two were standing guard right next to the active gate. Each one was armed with a simple Wraith stunner but it only takes one shot to put someone down with those. Except Ronon.

And the shaking in her hands was getting worse. Teldy doubted she could shoot straight in her current situation. There was no way she could pull off any kind of attack.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps behind her. Maybe there were more after all. Teldy spun around with her P-90 to come face to face with Teyla, also aiming her P-90. The two of them sighed, relieved.

"Teyla, am I glad to see you. I was afraid I was going to have to take all these guys on by myself." said Teldy.

"Any sign of Vega? She has Torran." asked Teyla.

"I haven't seen them. But I doubt they would still be here if Michael took him through the gate." said Teldy.

"How are you feeling?" asked Teyla. "My hands are shaking. It's not too bad. I can still fight." said Teldy.

"Good. Go to the lower level and take out the ones guarding the gate. There is less cover for them to take and should be easier to kill. I will take the control room. You fire the first shots, as soon as you do I will begin as well." said Teyla. Teldy nodded and moved silently off towards the stairwell.

Teyla wanted Teldy to get the opening shots so she would be able to take out the two guards beside the gate swiftly and quickly. Teyla also didn't know how well the Major would able to the other two as they would have an elevated advantage.

The Athosian waited patiently for Teldy to get into position. She had to be patient, she could not lose focus now. If they retake the control room, they could cut off Michael's escape route.

A double scratch noise came from Teyla's radio, quiet enough so only she could hear it. Teldy was ready. Telya double tapped her radio and then the chaos began.

Teldy opened fire on the closest Hybrid near the gate, dropping him. Teyla opened fire on a Hybrid near the gate control console, but she only managed to graze him as he ducked for cover. The other Hybrids took cover and fired back with their stunners. Teyla quickly ran forward, risking getting hit to advance into the control room.

The scene reminded Teyla of those action movies John showed her. She never understood how they always seemed to defy gravity. Rodney had his own opinion of them. "It's all because of the Matrix. That was an awesome movie and now Hollywood has to constantly copy off it because they can't make anything better or original." he said.

Teyla leaped forward, dropping to the ground. She aimed up at the Hybrid by the DHD console and fired a five round burst into his chest. He dropped the ground.

Meanwhile the Hybrid by the gate moved behind the event horizon, using it for cover. He suddenly ran forward to Teldy and smacked the P-90 out of her hand. He then tried a punch but Teldy ducked underneath it and drew her knife at the same time.

She brought the knife up and jabbed it into the Hybrid's face. He dropped to the ground, dead before he reached it. Teldy didn't have time to recover though before the final Hybrid, who was taking position in Woolsey's office, fired his stunner at her. She was unconscious before hitting the ground.

But this allowed Teyla the distraction she needed to get to her feet and fire a burst into the final Hybrid's head. Teyla breathed a sigh of relief as the final Hybrid dropped dead. All that was next was to wait… BOOM! Suddenly, pain shot up through Teyla's legs.

She dropped to the ground in pain as Teyla realized she had just been shot just above the heel. She turned her head to Vega holding a 9mm pistol in one hand and a portable baby bed in the other, the same one that Sheppard got her as a congratulations present.

Vega set the bed down gently, the flab open revealed Torran inside. Teyla reached for her P-90 but Vega lunged forward and kicked it away. Teyla swung her foot around, trying to trip Vega. But the Captain quickly jumped over it and kicked Teyla in the face.

Teyla fell onto her back, dazed. She didn't have time to recover as Vega stepped on Teyla's gunshot wound. The worst pain she had ever felt moved up her leg. She screamed. Vega then grabbed Teyla by the neck and hair and lifted the Athosian to her feet.

Teyla woppled on her injured leg. Just standing felt like it was on fire. Vega punched Teyla in the face. Then delivered another one. She smiled, Michael obviously enjoying this. Finally, Vega grabbed Teyla by the hand in a clinch. She pulled down Teyla's head as she brought up her knee right into Teyla's face.

Everything went blurry. Teyla dropped to the ground, her senses completely dazed. She spat out blood. Michael looked down at her with amusement. He chuckled. "Such a shame. I was hoping that you would have joined me but now I see that was just wishful thinking." said Michael.

He pulled out his pistol that he found on an unconscious guard. He didn't want to be weighted down by carrying anything else. Michael cocked it. "At least, I will have the privilege of killing you myself." he said as he aimed for Teyla's head.

Suddenly, the connection was broken. Michael opened his eyes to find himself back at the outpost. What happened? The gate was still active. The only explanation was that Vega has been rendered unconscious.

"NOOOOOOOO!" yelled Michael.

* * *

Teyla looked up at Michael aimed his pistol at her head. "At least, I will have the privilege of killing you myself." said Vega/Michael. Suddenly, her body convulsed as red energy spread along it.

Vega dropped to the ground unconscious, revealing Ronon behind her. And with his one shot, Ronon dropped to the ground exhausted. Teyla couldn't believe it.

"Ronon, how did you make it?" asked a delighted Teyla.

Ronon panted. "It wasn't easy and I don't intend on ever doing it again. In fact, I'm going to pass out now." he said before resting his eyes. Teyla couldn't help but chuckle from the whole thing. And just like that, all the unconscious personal began to moan and wake up.

* * *

She felt the pain again, only this time it was minor. More like a headache. Vega slowly opened her eyes to see that she was inside the infirmary. She glanced around to see Dr. Beckett, Colonel Sheppard, and Richard Woosley standing over her.

They told her everything. About the genetic tampering that allowed Michael to take control of her to the prions. Beckett had injected tiny droplets of her blood into all the city's personal. The tiny prions inside allowed the entire body's immune system to recognize the infection and destroy it.

Now one was killed thankfully. Some of the worst patients will need therapy to help them be able to speak properly again but everyone else was already back to normal. Porter managed to disable the bomb rigged by Michael in time. The whole thing hit Vega hard. She couldn't believe that she was manipulated so easily.

Once the three of them left, Teyla walked in. "Captain, how are you feeling?" she asked. "I'm okay. Doctor Beckett gave me some retrovirus therapy to remove all the genetic tampering Michael did so I'm no longer a walking health hazard." said Vega.

"That is good to hear." said Teyla. "Is Torren okay?" asked Vega. Teyla nodded. "Yes, he is fine." she said.

"Teyla, I am so sorry about what happened…" Vega started to say before Teyla stopped her.

"You do not have to apologize. You were just as much a victim as all of us were, maybe even more." Teyla said, trying to cheer her up.

"But I…" Vega tried to get out but again Teyla interrupted her.

"You're blood type is the reason why no one died today. If Michael had taken someone else with a different blood type, many people would have died. Everyone in this city is alive today because of you." said Teyla.

"I don't know how I can come back here, after everything that has happened." said Vega.

"I'm sure your team will not feel the same without you. Don't make any rash decisions. Go home, see your family." said Teyla.

"Thanks Teyla." Vega said. Teyla smiled and nodded. She turned and passed by Lieutenant Venner as he walked in. Vega moaned upon seeing him.

"What do you want?" asked an annoyed Vega.

"Sheez, hello to you too. What no hi, how ya doing?" said Venner. That's when Vega noticed that Venner was holding something behind his back, hiding it from her sight.

"What's that you got?" asked Vega. To her surprise, Venner brought a Heineken beer bottle, Vega's favorite kind. He set it down right beside her. "I have a friend onboard the Daedalus who keeps various beverages onboard. Colonel Caldwell doesn't mind as long as he gets a few. I had to pull quite a few strings to get that exact kind. Just don't let the doctors see it." he said.

"How did you know?" asked Vega. Venner smiled. "Doctor Porter was a very helpful source of information, unlike Sergeant Dusto." he said, still always making fun of Dusty. Vega didn't know what to say.

"You didn't have to do this." she finally said. "Come on, of course I had to. It's something I hope someone does for me." Venner said.

"You mean, if you get kidnapped by Michael, get turned into a biological weapon that can kill everyone around you, and after a week of retrovirus therapy, all you'll want is a Heineken?" asked Vega, playfully.

"That's getting cold you know. If you don't want, I'll be happy to have it." Venner said. Vega popped the lid off and chucked it into her mouth. The taste was so good.

"Well, I've got to be going. I just got assigned to Major Lorne's team and we're about to go off world." he said, starting to walk backwards as if he doesn't want to go but is trying to force himself.

"Alright, I'll see you around." said Vega. "Glad to hear that." said Venner before turning and walking out the door. Vega had to admit, he was cute. Dusty would go postal if she heard that. With that thought, Vega took another sip of her beer.

(Yes I know what some of you are thinking. The Atlantis writers said that Vega is gay. Well guess what, they killed her off and never used her so as far as I'm concerned I can make her anyway I want. Will there be a sequel to this? The answer is of course there will be. I just need to think of one. Thanks for reading folks.)


End file.
